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Friday, 28 June 2013

Keigo Yasuda, a film producer, has released his
unique film "Paper the Beatles" on YouTube. The film’s subject is the
British rock band The Beatles, who recently marked their 50th
anniversary.

"Paper
the Beatles" is a stop motion film representing the Beatles by using paper. The story is Keigo's original, based on images of jam sessions by
the band members. All the objects shown in the film, including the
people, musical instruments, equipment, and music studio are made from
paper.

Keigo did not use real film images of the Beatles in order to
emphasize the uniqueness of his film.

The music used in the film was
created exclusively by Yuji Yasuda, Keigo's father, and Naoki Yasuda,
Keigo's old brother.

For more information visit the website for this fabulous work at http://p.tl/wpaS

For more than
25 years, Joel Benjamin was a leading business and economics journalist.

Deciding he
needed a new challenge- he retired and embarked on a two-year, investigative
research project on the music and historical legacy of the Beatles.

Although he now
calls himself a "music historian"- when he started researching the
legacy of The Beatles Benjamin had never studied or written about music or
played an instrument. He has no college degree nor any academic standing - in
any subject.

He also had
absolutely no hypothesis or outline of the research project he chose from
himself- deciding instead to trust his investigative, researching instincts to
take him to that part of their story that has yet to be told.

Benjamin says
that what he has done that is unique is to look at the subject of the legacy of
The Beatles with an entirely objective perspective- as if he came from another
planet and asked people he met:

"Remember
that rock group from the 60s- The Beatles. What was their story about? How come
they were so good- and so successful in influencing and impacting the world?

He claims none
of the official historical record of their phenomenon makes any logical or
rational sense- both on the music side- but more importantly- of their
influence on the world over the past 50 years. He wonders:

Considering
where they came from- how could four young men of their background have conquered
the world in such a short period of time?
Not as musicians- but as global cultural and social icons?

In a span of under
two years Benjamin wrote twelve separate books on all 225 songs on their 12
studio albums. An additional three books are focused on the influence and
impact The Beatles have had on the world in the past 50 years. Additional
content on all 15 books can be viewed at the website of his Cypriot-based
publisher- www.ArjonPublishing.com

There is
currently about 25 universities in the US that offer courses on The Beatles-
and one UK university that offers an actual MBA program. Beatle scholarship
already exists. Benjamin says it needs a huge boast forward by global academics
to put it on equal footing as any other academic subject universities spend
public money to teach and investigate.

Benjamin's idea
is for a few dedicated and capable academics to step forward and create an official
"Beatle Studies Association" so that the nascent field of Beatle
scholarship can become a proper academic
discipline. He adds: " As I am
not an academic it is up to someone out there that is- and believes in the need
for the world to take Beatle scholarship more seriously."

THE BEATLES’ RESTORED 1965 FEATURE
FILM RELEASED DIGITALLY WORLDWIDE, EXCLUSIVELY ON THE ITUNES
STORE

“Absurd,
delightful and exuberantly messy, Help!
is a pure pleasure to watch.”

–
The New York Times

The
Beatles’ second feature film, 1965’s Help!, has made its worldwide digital
release debut, exclusively on the iTunes Store (www.iTunes.com/TheBeatles). The
digitally
restored film and 5.1 soundtrack features iTunes Extras including a 30-minute
documentary about the making of the film, memories of the cast and crew, an
in-depth look at the restoration process, an outtake scene, original theatrical
trailers and radio spots, and detailed art, including a companion piece with an
introduction by the film’s director, Richard Lester, and an appreciation by
Martin Scorsese.

Help!’s debut
on the iTunes Store and Blu-ray follows the 2012
release of The Beatles’ digitally restored Yellow Submarine and
Magical Mystery Tour feature films on iTunes, Blu-ray and DVD with
extensive extras. Help!’s
restoration
for its 2007 DVD debut wowed viewers, earning five-times platinum sales in the
U.S. and praise from a broad range of top media outlets around the world,
including USA Today heralding the DVD as “a grand re-release,” The
Guardian’s appreciation of the film’s director, Richard Lester, saying
“Lester matches The Beatles’ ‘star’ power with smart, colourful visuals and
casual surrealism,” The Los Angeles Times’ restoration rave: “With
dynamic compression that was standard in the 1960s lifted for the digital age,
the full range of the group’s musicality comes through – it’s like several coats
of dust have been cleaned off an old master’s painting,” and four-star reviews
from Rolling Stone and MOJO with the latter saying, “They really
don't make them like this anymore.”

Directed
by Richard Lester, who also directed the band’s debut feature film, 1964’s A
Hard Day’s Night, Help!
follows The Beatles as they become passive recipients of an outside plot that
revolves around Ringo's possession of a sacrificial ring, which he cannot remove
from his finger. As a result, he and his bandmates John, Paul and George are
chased from London to the Austrian Alps and the Bahamas by religious cult
members, a mad scientist and the London police.

In
addition to starring The Beatles, Help! boasts
a witty script, a great cast of British character actors, and classic Beatles
songs “Help!,” “You're Going To Lose That Girl,” “You've Got To Hide Your Love
Away,” “Ticket To Ride,” “I Need You,” “The Night Before,” and “Another
Girl.”

Help!’s
iTunes digital download pairs the digitally restored original film with these
iTunes Extras:

• “The Beatles in
Help!” – a 30-minute documentary about the making of the film with
Richard Lester, the cast and crew, including exclusive behind-the-scenes footage
of The Beatles on-set.

• “A Missing Scene” –
a film outtake, featuring Wendy Richard

• “The Restoration of
Help!” – an in-depth look at the restoration
process

• “Memories of
Help!” – the cast and crew reminisce

• 1965 Theatrical
Trailers – two original U.S. trailers and one original Spanish
trailer

Tuesday, 25 June 2013

Having
attracted in excess of 125,000 visitors since its opening in 2011,
Liverpool’s
'Elvis and Us' exhibition is to extend its stay in the city through to 2014
–
a year longer than originally planned.

And
to celebrate this success, Graceland’s
official curator Angie Marchese was in town on Monday June 17th
bringing even more artefacts all the way from Memphis to include in the
exhibition.

New
items include Elvis' 1965 Gretzch Country Gentlemen Guitar and his white Tunic
top - both used during his 1969 Vegas comeback engagements at The
International

Co-curated
by Graceland and Liverpool's award-winning Beatles Story attraction, the 'Elvis
and Us' exhibition uses artefacts –
most of which have never been seen outside of Graceland before - and multimedia
to explore the huge influence The King of Rock 'n' Roll®
had on the Fab Four.

Formally
opened in October 2011 by Jack Soden - president of Elvis Presley Enterprises -
'Elvis and Us' has wowed thousands of Elvis and Beatles fans alike.

Centring
around the historic meeting between The Beatles and Elvis at The King's Bel Air
mansion on August 27th 1965, the exhibition collects artefacts from
Elvis's childhood through to his spectacular Vegas years, and even includes the
bass guitar Elvis used to jam with The Beatles!

There
are exclusive video interviews with those present at the meeting between Elvis
and The Beatles including Priscilla Presley, NME journalist Chris Hutchins and
The Beatles PR guru Tony Barrow. The insights given by the interviewees are
incisive and often surprising. In addition original Beatle Pete Best and The
Quarrymen are interviewed about the influence of Elvis on pop music and The
Beatles’
early incarnations.

In
addition to displaying many incredibly rare artefacts, 'Elvis and Us' also stocks official Elvis Presley
memorabilia otherwise only available at Graceland –
ideal for gifts. There are even Elvis jumpsuits for the truly dedicated
fan.

The
exhibition has even been visited by Elvis’s
co-star in the film The Trouble with
Girls Marlyn Mason and James Burton, legendary guitarist from
Elvis’s
own TCB Band - who backed The King of Rock ‘n’
Roll®
in concert between 1969 and 1977. Both have given the exhibition their seal of
approval.

You
can visit the 'Elvis and Us' exhibition at the Pier Head site for just
£6.00.

Monday, 17 June 2013

A host of top Brazilian bands and artists will hit Liverpool
on Saturday 20 July when Brazilica Carnival Day takes over the
city centre, rounding off a week-long programme of festival events! As well as a
500-strong evening parade which will fill the city’s streets with colour,
sparkle and music, Williamson Square will for the third year running host
a music stage throughout the day and evening, hosted by DJs from 107.6 Juice FM.
Revellers will be able to eat, drink and be merry as they experience a great
programme of music and samba dancing, with an outdoor ‘cocktail shack’ and
stalls offering the best in Brazilian food.

Rio-based Beatle Band Sargento Pimenta visit Brazilica
for the first time this year and will headline the Juice FM Williamson Square
stage. Commanding an audience of up to 100,000 people in Brazil, Sargento
Pimenta samba band have helped maintain the global legacy of our city’s greatest
musical export The Beatles - in fact, Brazil boasts one of the World’s most avid
Beatles fanbases. Sargento Pimenta perform Beatles classics in a fun samba style
and are set to have Brazilica crowds singing and dancing along in no time!

Innovative
samba & jazz fusion quartet Tribo Da Pesada will make a welcome
return to the Brazilica main stage. Featuring renowned singer Fabio
Allman, frontman for Rio superstars Monobloco, a showman used to
performing all over Brazil to 100,000 people a time, Tribo Da Pasada wowed
crowds at Brazilica 2012. Their 2013 appearance will be even more exciting as
the band’s current incarnation boasts even more members! Now featuring 7
musicians, the band incorporates horns and percussion in an exciting fusion of
their usual samba sound and sakara (popular Nigerian music).

UK-based Brazilian funk and samba band The Fontanas
will this year grace the Williamson Square stage, after playing a great set at
last year’s Festinho presents Brazilica Nation charity club night at
Nation. Joining them will be Solo Sagrado. Walter Jesus de Magalhães
Junior, the band’s lead singer, came to Liverpool from Brazil, became friends
with Liverpool Carnival Company’s Roger and Maeve and wrote the Liverpool Samba
School’s Enredo in 2008. Roger and his band have since relocated to Barcelona
but they are excited to return to Liverpool and perform again at Brazilica.

Liverpool
Samba School, Viva Brasil Dance Shows and DJs Gary Garamendi,
Silvao & Fabio will also be on hand to ensure Liverpool keeps
dancing to the samba beat all day long. Samba schools from around the UK who are
visiting the festival and participating in the parade will also appear on stage
throughout this scorching spectacle of samba.

Debbie Boyd
of Brazilica co-organisers Orb Events said:“The reaction of Brazilian
people to Liverpool’s own Brazilian carnival event is amazing - when we mention
the city we can hardly believe the great response and the way our musical
history has had such a massive impact on a country so far away! Brazilian
artists have been so honoured to be asked to join the festival which has now
become the biggest in the UK. In addition to Sargento Pimente there is also a
wealth of other brilliant musicians and performers that have come to the
festival from all over the World.”

Get yourself
down to Williamson Square on Saturday 20 July for a real carnival bloc party in
the heart of Liverpool!

Sunday, 16 June 2013

“Absurd, delightful and exuberantly messy, Help! is a pure pleasure to watch.”

– The New York Times

The Beatles’ second feature film, 1965’s Help!, is on the way on Blu-ray.On June 24 (June 25 in North America), Help! makes its eagerly awaited Blu-ray debut in a single-disc
package pairing the digitally restored film and 5.1 soundtrack with an hour of
extra features, including a 30-minute documentary about the making of the film,
memories of the cast and crew, an in-depth look at the restoration process, an
outtake scene, and original theatrical trailers and radio spots. An
introduction by the film’s director, Richard Lester, and an appreciation by
Martin Scorsese are included in the Blu-ray’s booklet.

Help!’s Blu-ray edition follows
the 2012 release of The Beatles’ digitally restored Yellow Submarine and Magical
Mystery Tour feature films on Blu-ray, DVD and iTunes with extensive
extras. Help!’s restoration for its 2007 DVD debut
wowed viewers, earning five-times platinum sales in the U.S. and praise from a
broad range of top media outlets around the world, including USA Today
heralding the DVD as “a grand re-release,” The Guardian’s appreciation
of the film’s director, Richard Lester, saying“Lester
matches The Beatles’ ‘star’ power with smart, colourful visuals and casual
surrealism,” The Los Angeles Times’ restoration rave: “With dynamic compression that was standard
in the 1960s lifted for the digital age, the full range of the group’s
musicality comes through – it’s like several coats of dust have been cleaned
off an old master’s painting,” and four-star reviews from Rolling Stone
and MOJO with the latter saying, “They really don't make them like this
anymore.”

Directed by Richard Lester, who also directed the band’s debut feature
film, 1964’s A Hard Day’s Night, Help!
follows The Beatles as they become passive recipients of an outside plot that
revolves around Ringo's possession of a sacrificial ring, which he cannot remove
from his finger. As a result, he and his bandmates John, Paul and George are
chased from London to the Austrian Alps and the Bahamas by religious cult
members, a mad scientist and the London police.

‘Help!’
follows in the great tradition of classic comedy chase movies.

In
this instance, John, Paul, George and Ringo, find themselves being pursued
across the world by not one but two groups of fanatics with separate agendas.

Ringo
possesses a ring with a large red stone set in the middle, sent to him by a
fan. Unknown to him this artefact is the sacred sacrificial ring of Goddess
Kaili: the deity of an Asian religious cult led by Swami Clang (Leo McKern).

The
younger sister of High Priestess Ahme (Eleanor Bron) has been selected by
Kaili’s thuggish followers as a human sacrifice. However, panic breaks out
when, as she is about to be dispatched by the ceremonial-sword wielding
fanatic, Swami Clang, he realises that she is not wearing this religious
bauble.

The
human sacrifice is promptly placed on hold.
Clang, Ahme and a bunch of bumbling henchmen organised by Blutha (John
Bluthal), set about tracking down the wearer with the aim of retrieving the
ring by covering Ringo in bright red paint and sacrificing him in the process.

Even
before he realises he is the object of these fanatics attention, Ringo finds
that he can’t slip it off his finger. It’s stuck!

Meanwhile,
unbeknownst to Clang, the lovely Ahme is a secret Beatles fan with a shine for
Paul.

These
cult followers of Kaili frantically pursue The Beatles first, through London,
then up the snow-covered Austrian Alps, followed by Buckingham Palace across
Salisbury Plain and finally along the sandy beaches of the Bahamas.

Amidst
this turmoil, two scientists named Foot (Victor Spinetti) and Algernon (Roy
Kinnear) have become involved, being called in by the Government to try and
remove the ring from Ringo’s finger. Algernon is a harmless fool, however, Foot
is a megalomaniac and sees the ring as a means to “rule the world!” and is
prepared to go to extremes to get his hands on the ring. Following up the rear is dapper Scotland Yard
Police Superintendent (Patrick Cargill),

Fortunately,
all attempts to remove this religious artefact from Ringo’s hand are thwarted
at every turn often by John, Paul and George. This wild chase eventually
culminates on a beach in the Bahamas when the ring suddenly falls off Ringo’s
finger and those in pursuit are suddenly afraid to pick it up in case they
themselves become splattered with red paint and selected as the sacrificial
victim!

Ringo Starr’s new ebook, PHOTOGRAPH, a collection of his never-before-seen photographs, is released
on June 12 2013 on the iBookstore and RingoPhotograph.com

Unseen images
taken by Ringo and from his personal archives, accompanied by his audio, text
and video captions, are showcased in ‘Photograph’ for the very first time to
give unprecedented insight into the life of a Beatle. The ebook is available
exclusively on the iBookstore.

‘These are shots that no one else could have.’ – Ringo

p97 - Photograph - Copyright Ringo Starr and Genesis Publications

Ringo shares
forgotten photographs and stories of his childhood home, family holidays and
all-night parties on his road to stardom. He candidly captures his Beatles
bandmates in pensive and playful moments: washing, eating, recording, smoking,
drinking and playing monopoly. Pictures of ‘the boys’ are joined by Ringo’s
travel photography, taking you inside the car with The Beatles as they toured
the world. From the position of a friend, bandmate and skilled photographer,
Ringo portrays four lads from Liverpool trying to live normal lives amidst the
frenzy that surrounded them. This is the album of Ringo’s life, from his time
in hospital, where he played a drum for the first time, to growing up in
Liverpool amidst the excitement of the emerging Merseybeat scene, to playing in
the biggest band in the world.

‘A good time was had by all in those days.’ – Ringo

p118 - Photograph - Copyright Ringo Starr and Genesis Publications

Readers can
pick up and zoom in on 140 photographs as they scroll through Ringo’s memoir,
while 69 audio clips narrated by Ringo tell the previously unheard stories
behind the photos. Ringo has also filmed 11 exclusive videos for this
ebook, featuring music and animation and new interviews from Ringo Starr.
Ringo’s first multimedia edition is a must-have for fans of The Beatles and
anyone passionate about modern music.

p72 - Photograph - Copyright Ringo Starr and Genesis Publications

‘Genesis did a great job on my book POSTCARDS FROM THE BOYS – so why would
I go anywhere else? I did my first book with the father and now my second with
his son.’ – Ringo

Genesis
Publications have been making fine limited editions since 1974. On the eve of
their 40th anniversary, Genesis are delighted to be making their
very first ebook, especially with an author that is an integral part of their
company history. Using Apple software to bring their designs into the digital
dimension, the ebook was created exclusively for the iBookstore. A limited-edition hand-bound book, signed by Ringo
Starr, will follow in December 2013. Each copy will benefit The Lotus
Foundation.

All images copyright www.Ringophotograph.com / Genesis
Publications and used here with kind permission. Please do not download or otherwise reproduce these images without the express permission of the copyright holder.

About Genesis Publications:

‘It’s an honour to publish Ringo Starr and create a first-ever ebook
for Genesis Publications in aid of The Lotus Foundation.’ – Nick Roylance,
Genesis Publications

In the late 19th
century, under the influence of William Morris, the private press flourished in
Britain, creating books that were works of art in themselves. Similarly
inspired, Genesis Publications was founded as an independent publishing house
true to the arts of printing and craftsmanship.

In an interview with The New York Times, Genesis’ late founder Brian Roylance
commented, ‘I don’t know of many people
who go to this much trouble to produce a book anymore. But I think there is a
future for it.’ Inspired by this idea, Genesis is proud to create some of
the most sought after books in the world.

Authors and
contributors who have participated in Genesis limited editions include David
Bowie, Eric Clapton, George Harrison, Pete Townshend, Yoko Ono, Sir George
Martin, Jimmy Page and The Rolling Stones.

Genesis dispatches books to a global community of readers in over 50
countries. Around 100 signed limited editions have been created with renowned
authors, as varied as they are many. Their editions feature in the collections
of the world’s finest libraries, including New York Public Library’s Rare and
Fine Printed Book Department.

‘Genesis Publications... creators of lushly
designed rock photo books.’ – The New York Times